Iran State TV station FARS announced Saturday morning that four American dual-nationality prisoners were released from Iranian custody in a “prisoner swap” with the United States.
Cuban President Raul Castro backs greater gay rights and ending discrimination against homosexuals, his daughter Mariela, a famed sexologist, said Saturday during a colorful gay rights march in Havana. Mariela Castro runs Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX) and
The media flurry over Obama’s most recent position on gay marriage almost obscured a statement that could have significant implications for America’s security. As reported by Elliott Abrams at the Weekly Standard, Obama has returned to his 1996 position of
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned home from Havana late Friday, declaring success in his fight against cancer after a week in which he received what was supposed to be his last session of radiation therapy. Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami
The government of Iraq’s Kurdish region fired back on Saturday over allegations by Iranian diplomats and officials that Kurdistan was playing host to Israeli intelligence. Kurdish authorities described the claims, made in previous weeks, as “untrue”, after Iran’s consul in
A roadside bomb killed four Afghan policemen when it ripped through their patrol vehicle in western Afghanistan, a provincial government official says. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but roadside bombs are regularly planted by Taliban insurgents fighting a
DEMETRIS NELLASAssociated PressATHENS, GreeceGreek President Karolos Papoulias called for the leaders of Greece’s political parties to meet on Sunday, in a last-ditch effort to broker a deal for a coalition government and avoid another general election. Papoulias took the step
Spain head to Euro 2012 looking to make history but their bid for a third consecutive major tournament triumph could be hit by fatigue, with top players feeling the effects of several years competing at the highest level. Spain were
China said on Saturday it would cut reserve requirements for banks, after disappointing economic data raised fears of a sharp slowdown in the world’s second largest economy. The People’s Bank of China, the central bank, said it would cut banks’
By MATTHEW PENNINGTONAssociated PressWASHINGTONChina’s assertive behavior is breathing life into America’s historically tumultuous relationship with the Philippines. With Washington turning its attention more to the Asia-Pacific region, the U.S. and the Philippines last week held the first joint meeting of
Tens of thousands of people flocked to South Korea’s 2012 international expo Saturday on the first day of the three-month show with the theme of “The Living Ocean and Coast”. The southern coastal city of Yeosu opened Expo 2012 to
By DON MELVIN and ROD McGUIRKAssociated PressIn Europe, where more than 200,000 people thronged a Berlin rally in 2008 to hear Barack Obama speak, there’s disappointment that he hasn’t kept his promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay,
China has impounded Philippine fruit exports alleged to carry pests, squeezing a key industry amid a tense stand-off between the two countries over disputed territory, a Philippine official said. Manila newspapers on Saturday reported tonnes of Philippine bananas were rotting
This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com. Greece will make one last desperate attempt to form a government Spain follows Greece into crisis, as Bankia bank is nationalized Al-Qaeda establishes a safe haven in northern Mali Greece will make one last
The Guardian reports that members of the intelligence community are virtually apoplectic over the leaked underwear bombing plot foiled by a CIA informant who had infiltrated Al Qaeda: Mike Scheur, the former head of the CIA’s Bin Laden unit, said the
South Korea’s president on Friday opened an international expo at a glittering hi-tech venue with a huge seafront display of fireworks and lasers. After four years of preparation and $10 billion investment, a 2,000-strong crowd — including foreign delegates —
US authorities have seized $1.5 million worth of proceeds from counterfeit goods made in China and sold online in the United States, Justice Department officials said Friday. The probe seized funds from interbank accounts and six money service business accounts,
(AP) Egyptians abroad vote in presidential electionsBy LEE KEATHAssociated PressCAIROEgyptian expatriates headed to the polls on Friday, casting the first votes to name a successor to ousted leader Hosni Mubarak in what are hoped to be the first genuinely contested
The German Pirate Party, which also seems to have a keen focus on the Internet, experienced something of a breakthrough in Germany’s recent elections as protest party. However, concerns have arisen regarding the possibility of Holocaust denial among their ranks. Individuals from
(AP) Attacker in Afghan uniform kills US service memberBy AMIR SHAHAssociated PressKABUL, AfghanistanA man wearing an Afghan army uniform shot dead a U.S. service member in the east of the country, one of two NATO troops killed on Friday, military
This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com. Two suicide car bombs explode in Damascus Syria, killing 55 Syria suicide bombs may be linked to al-Qaeda’s ‘al-Nusra Battlefront’ 12,000 troops mass near Syria’s border in ‘Eager Lion 2012’ U.S. special forces ready
(AP) Israeli president hospitalized for herniaJERUSALEMIsraeli President Shimon Peres’ office says the 88-year-old is undergoing surgery for a hernia discovered during his state visit to Canada. Peres’ spokesman Ayelet Frisch says that the hernia was discovered halfway through the president’s
From all reports available, the arraignment of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and his four co-defendants last Saturday was nothing less than an insult to the families of 9/11 victims. A mockery of justice itself, the five men “refused to
The eurozone was fighting on four fronts on Friday, with deficits clouding growth, Greek membership at risk, Spanish banks in trouble, and the outlook hanging on talks between paymaster Germany and a new French president. EU forecasts showed the eurozone
By DAVID McHUGHAP Business WriterFRANKFURT, Germany Let Greece go. It’s a possibility that’s being considered more and more publicly in Europe. There have been two and a half years of bailouts and broken promises by Greece to reform. The result:
(AP) PARIS — French President-elect Francois Hollande suggested Friday that the government of outgoing leader Nicolas Sarkozy underestimated the country’s budget problems and wants a new audit of France’s books. But Hollande, a Socialist elected Sunday to lead the world’s
